Shane Rickly, of Amanda, poses for a portrait at his family's farm. Rickly, a professional bull rider, has recently been sponsored by Rocky.

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A local bull rider who competes in the Professional Roughstock Series will represent Rocky western footwear for 2014.

The Nelsonville-based company approached Shane Rickly, 30, about sponsoring him after he modeled some footwear for the company. During the year, he will wear Rocky footwear and sport the Rocky logo while riding, along with making public appearances. The company will use Rickly in its advertising and have him appear at some Rocky locations for meet-and-greet events.

"Rocky is a big sponsor for PRS," Rickly said. "And they're a local company. I'd talked to them before, and ...